The Rich, the Infamous, and the In Between
by LissyGoode
Summary: Powerless!Young Justice. The Team was never a group of superheros, but a group of friends brought together through fate. This is an extreme AU writen for WyldEyln on Deviantart, I figured I might as well put it up on here too. Spitfire, SuperMartian, and Dick/Babs.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Artemis was _not_ watching Wally run. She had simply chosen to stop at the bleachers near the track field to rest. Anyone who knew her (or thought they did) would believe it. Wally West was the jewel of Gotham Academy's track team, the fastest, and hardest, runner since his Uncle Barry had graduated. He would arrive early and stay late, just to run around in a circle. Artemis didn't get it. Then again, she shot arrows repeatedly at a red dot.

As Wally finished his lap, Artemis could tell he was in his "happy place," somewhere between exhausted and rejuvenated, because though his jog had a bounce to it, it also had an almost unnoticeable limp. The lean redheaded boy jogged over to his things, and after chugging the life from his water bottle, pulled his _Flash_ t-shirt on.

"Hey beautiful," Wally called, shouldering his duffel bag and startling two girls out of their whispered giggles. One of them looked up like she was about to say something, but Wally just walked past her and continued on his path towards Artemis, "been waiting long?"

Artemis Crock and Wally West were not a couple; you couldn't even call them friends. Yeah, Artemis would come over for supper and _maybe_ they'd end up making out in his basement, but it was just as likely they'd start bickering and she's leave before desert was even served. They were not dating, but that didn't stop Wally from hitting on her in public.

"Only the twenty minuets it took you to run in a circle," she retorted, ignoring the glares both girls gave her. Artemis was used to being treated differently at Gotham Academy, coming from a not-so-respectable family rumors about how she got her scholarship at GA flew like wildfire.

Some said she had slept with the school's main benefactor, Bruce Wayne, to get it. Other's clamed it was his son, Dick Grayson, and there were even a few people who swore it was both. It didn't help that she hung out with Wally and "super-hot bad boy" Connor Kent.

Artemis often wondered what people had said about Kal, another scholarship member who lived in her neighborhood. He had graduated last year along with Dick, being the first kid from Blood Alley to graduate from Gotham Academy. Artemis would soon be the second.

"Whatever," Wally rolled his eyes and hulled Artemis's loaded quiver into his other shoulder, "the others are waiting."

Megan Morse and Connor Kent sat on a bench outside Gotham Academy's main entrance. Megan's dark red hair twisted in the wind slightly as she talked, gushing and giggling and clapping her hands together. Though Connor was considered one of the hottest guys in school, not many people were willing to face his steal-cold blue eyes. In fact, the only girls who talked to him on a regular basis were Megan and Artemis.

Megan was the second youngest in a large family, though both she and her younger brother were outcasts. Out of all seven kids, they were the only two born from her father's second marriage. She had been living with her uncle for a few years after her sibling's mental abuse began to weigh too much, but she didn't mind. John was kind, and happened to live only a few houses away from Connor and his family.

The two were in the beginning stages of a relationship, and it was slightly awkward and embarrassing for them both of them whenever they were alone, which was why they were both secretly relieved when Artemis and Wally showed up.

Artemis and Connor had known each other for three years. They had met before the Academy in a group therapy session run by Kal and his mom. Among other issues, they both had anger management problems and had been pared up during one of the classes. After their "I feel angry because…" sentences turned into a contest on who's dad was worse, Kal kept them together to see if they could break through to each other.

Recently, Conner had made amends with his dad. Artemis tried to feel happy for him, but it left her no one to complain about her own dad to and she had a sinking feeling that part of their relationship had rubbed away.

Though most people knew Artemis was from the Slums, and more specifically Blood Alley, not a lot of people knew her childhood background, which was fine by her. On "Take Your Kind to Work Day" in third grade, most kids went with their dad to the newspaper or an office job, Artemis helped her dad rob a bank. She never really talked about it to anyone, but Kal knew, being from the same world and so did Dick (with a little help from the police commissioner's daughter).

After they made their greetings, the group started towards Wayne Manor. Even though Dick had graduated last year, it was still their place of choice to hang out. Mainly because, let's be honest, he had the best snacks and newest games.

The four of them were an odd group, it could be called a "gang" in some parts of town, with the daughter of two criminals and a boy to could bench-press twice his weight, or a "social gathering" in others, with the fact that 90% of them came from decent homes and one member was the son of a multibillionaire, so they just called themselves a team. _The_ Team to be more exact, no one was quite sure why, but it felt right.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Artemis had the fear beaten out of her before she was even old enough to be afraid of the dark, so when the skinny white boy next to her asked if she wanted him to walk her home she actually laughed. The Team had just finished a meeting, which was much more of a Dick and Artemis teaching the others how to fight then anything else. Kal, who could fight but refused to, had left an hour ago with an urgent call from his mom, and Conner had taken Megan home on his motorcycle, leaving Artemis and Wally standing outside the front gates of Bruce Wayne's mansion.

Wally glared at her, looking rather determined, so she sized him up. He was white, like _really_ white (she guessed the whole ginger thing didn't help much in that department), and with his button down shirt and clean jeans he looked like he belonged on this side of town. Artemis looked down at her clothes: ripped jeans that had probably belonged to her sister, a green t-shirt with specks that could have been grease, but most likely were dried blood (another hand-me-down), and beaten sneakers. There was no way Wally would blend into the Slums scene.

That was one of the reasons they weren't a couple, in Artemis's mind. She looked okay as a friend, but someone who dressed like Wally wouldn't be caught dating someone who dressed like her. As quickly as the feeling of unworthy fell over her she twisted it into sarcasm. "You think you could protect me in Blood Alley?" She asked with a smirk, "Please, I'd be sending you home in a body bag. Besides, I don't need protecting."

"That's not what I meant," Wally told her, before taking her face in his hands and pulling her lips to his. The kiss sent a warm feeling through Artemis's body, causing her toes to curl up. She almost protested when he pulled away. Almost. "I meant, don't you think it's about time I met your family? You haven't told me anything about them and—"

"Wally," the girl pulled away, "you don't want to meet my family. Trust me—_I_ don't even want to meet my family." Her voice cracked and she hated herself for it, but she had gotten broken ribs that hurt less then admitting the boney redhead was too good for her.

A burst of static caused the two to jump and Dicks voice came through the intercom in the wall next to the iron bars, "Look, Barbara is coming in ten minutes—"

"Dog," Wally cut him off, giving Artemis more prove of how white he actually was. "Don't worry, we were just leaving," he gave a pointed look to Artemis, "right, babe?"

If it wasn't for the fact that Dick knew she and Wally were… something, she would have killed the boy for calling her "babe" where someone could hear. "Fine," she growled, marching down the street, "but don't expect me to bring flowers to your funeral."

Wally really wished Artemis hadn't made the funeral comment, because half an hour later, the two of them were walking down a blackened alley with tough looking guys—and tougher looking girls—lining both sides. Artemis walked with her shoulders back, anger still seething with every step. A guy as big as Connor approached her, but stayed back a few feet out of kicking range. Artemis stopped so quickly that Wally almost walked into her, only his quick reflexes stopped him from slamming into the girl's back.

"Tommy," Artemis said calmly, like this happened to her every time she tried to go home, "ya out of juvi?"

"Ain't the only one, babe," an albino boy stepped out of the shadows, his arms held out like he was expecting a hug. To Wally's shock, Artemis _did_ hug him and he tried to bite back the jealousy in his stomach when the guy kissed her. It wasn't a romantic kiss, just a peck on the lips really, but it made Wally's hands clinch. "Who you, white boy?" The albino asked, his arm snaking across Artemis's shoulders.

If Wally wasn't so mad, he'd think being called white by a boy whose skin practically _was_ white ironic. Though the words stung like a slap, this wasn't his part of town and everyone knew it. When Artemis called him white, it was a statement not an insult but he had a feeling right now that wasn't so.

Luckily Artemis saved him from answering, "Lab part-na. He be ta good ta have shit like me at 'is house." Artemis's arm had found its way around the boy's waist and Wally was starting to see red, until she introduced him. "Dis is Icicle Jr. Ya heard o' 'em, yeah? Likes ta _freeze_ things."

Her eyes held a warning for Wally, but the kid's name warned him enough. He had heard of Icicle, a notorious super villain who liked to freeze those who crossed him. Stories was that Jr. didn't inherit any of his dad's powers, but did have his taste for the cold. The last kid to piss him off went missing for a week before his body was found in a meat locker slung up like a pig. But… why was Artemis hanging out with him?

Just looking at everyone, Wally knew Artemis was different. Almost all the girls were either mixed, Mexican or black, and the one white girl looked like she was ready to gut someone. They were shirtless with their bras showing freely under jackets or vests, and their shorts could hardly classify as denim underwear. All of them had scars or busted lips or black eyes. Wally found himself wondering if Artemis looked like this in her free time. If the girl in the clean (if stained) t-shirt was a show she put on for people outside the Slums, if _this_ was the real Artemis.

"Love ta chat," Artemis said suddenly, saving Wally from his break down before it happened, "but ya know how Ma gets."

Jr. gave Artemis another kiss before releasing her, and the crowd parted for them. Wally could feel eyes watching them as they continued down the alley and around the corner. As soon as they were out of sight, Wally grabbed her arm. "What was that?"

"The Gates of Hell," Artemis told him, pulling her arm out of his grip. All traces of the girl from the alley were gone and she was back to her usual self, which honestly freaked Wally out even more.

"You and… what _was_ that?" The way she acted so natural with the son of a murderer, a supposed murderer himself, how could she do that? And they kissed! "Are you and him…?"

Artemis grabbed Wally's hand and kept walking, not looking at him. "We were, a long time ago. Cam and I are childhood friends, but he's been into Tuppance since before Juvi."

_Tuppance_ Wally had heard that name before… "Wait, Tommy and Tuppance Terror? You know the _Terror Twins_? Is everyone in this place a murderer?" He regretted it even as the words were coming out of his mouth, but there was no way to stop them. There was no way to rephrase the question to make it less of an attack.

Instead of pulling away, Artemis's grip on his hand tightened. "You wanted to meet my family," she told him in a steady voice, "That was half of them right there."


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Megan had a way of looking at Connor like she could read his mind. Which wasn't a bad thing when he was upset and didn't ant to talk, or didn't know how to say something. But sometimes it just unfair. Like now, they were playing cards and Megan seemed to know exactly what he would play next.

Connor put the two of Spades down on top of the pile, picking another card up from the deck. He wasn't even quite sure what they were playing, probably some game Megan and Gar had come up with when they were kids. He glanced up from his hand and grimaced. From the look on his girlfriend's face, Connor had just lost. Again.

"You're getting better," Megan told him, collecting the cards and shuffling them again. The back of the cards had the logo of an old TV sitcom _Hello Megan_. Megan's mom had been the main character, but her acting career never took off and the show all but dropped out of existence. It had only lasted one season, and the reviews had been terrible, but you could still find merchandise on EBay if you wanted it.

"Can't we play something I can actually win?" Conner asked.

Megan giggled and kissed him on the cheek, "Now where's the fun in that?" The girl had been in a good mood all night, ever since Artemis had told her she could be a street boxer. Connor hadn't been quite sure how that was a complement, but it had made Megan happy.

"You have no pity," he told her as she dealt the cards again. He might have been getting better, but that only meant it was talking him longer to lose. With a sigh, he fanned out his cards and dropped the King of Hearts onto the table.

-x-x-

You don't live with a reporter for eleven years without picking up a few tricks. Wally found some of them came in handy when meeting families, stopping him from looking like a bigger fool then he was. One of the tricks was watching for unwritten rules, so when Artemis unlocked the door to her apartment and immediately took off her shoes, he followed in pursuit.

"_Xin chào__mẹ_," Artemis called as Brucely (a big grey pit-bull) pushed past her and into the living room. The dog had met them outside the building, waiting by the door with his eyes fixed on the corner they had come around. Slowly, the mystery that was Artemis Crock was unraveling. Unfortunately, the string kept getting tangled.

"You speak Chinese?"

"No." And that was the end of it.

Artemis never said much, if anything, about her family. Both Dick and Kal knew things (for the obvious reasons), but Wally had always felt slightly insulted she had never opened up to him. They were dating, and he didn't even know if she had been born in the states! Of course, it wasn't like he'd had the need to wonder before.

Ever since the "Gates of Hell," Wally had begun to doubt even the little he knew about Artemis. In the two years since they met, he had adopted the idea that he would never _really_ know Artemis, but this—everything—was too much. It was like watching an animal in its natural habitat when you were used to the one in captivity.

Wally had stopped trying to guess what would happen next, but he really wasn't prepared when a woman rolled herself out of the kitchen. Yes, _rolled_. She was in a wheelchair. Even in his head he sounded like a douche, but he had always imagined the rest of Artemis's family like she was—always active and moving, not… stationary.

But it wasn't the wheelchair that really had him on edge, it was the fact that he recognized her. He had seen this woman on TV, only that time she wasn't wearing a smile. She was, however, wearing handcuffs. _Is everyone around here a murderer?_ The question made him sick now. How could he have asked his girlfriend that when her parents…

"Wally," Artemis said, her voice tight, "this is my mom. Mom, Wally's my… friend. He wanted to come over for dinner."

The woman's smile widened, and when she spoke her voice was broken with a middle Easter accent, "It is nice to finally meet one of Artemis's school friends." Pula Crock, criminal mastermind, wheeled back into the kitchen. "I hope you like pho, it is Artemis's—"

"What happened?" Artemis cut her off, looking more cachous then alarmed. "You only make pho if something happened."

From where Wally stood, he could see the guilty look on the woman's face. Unwritten rules, he reminded him self. It appeared they were all over the place. He wanted to reach out and console Artemis, comfort her, but he had been introduced as her friend, not her boyfriend.

"Artemis…" Pula took a moment, trying to find the right words to explain, "your father's back."


	4. Chapter 3

Artemis disappeared into her room after hearing the news about her father, leaving Wally with Paula. She had been showing him her photo albums of the girls. Apparently, Artemis had an older sister named Jade (and she wasn't very nice judging from how many mug shots she had). In fact, almost _all_ the photos were mug shots or taken from security feeds and they all had labels like "Jade's First High Speed Chase—11" or "Artemis Steals Dog—7." The dog in question, Wally noticed, looked strangely like a young Brucely. Paula had just started on the baby stories (more robbing banks, less naked in the bath tub) when Artemis returned from her room.

She was decked out in a dark green hoodie and leggings of the same color that were tight enough to draw Wally's eye to places he shouldn't be looking at with her mother in the room. She had her bow from school in one gloved hand and her quiver strapped across her back looking for all the world like a Green Arrow cosplayer. And it was damn sexy… but Wally didn't get it.

"What's going on?" He asked, forcing his eye back up to her face, which he now realized was covered from below here eyes all the way to her neck by a lighter green cloth that matched her gloves. "You look like a visual anti."

"That's the point," she told him, her voice muffled slightly by the mask. "If the cops won't do their job, I will."

"Artemis," her mother said, eyes wide in fear and anger. Fear because she knew what her husband was capable of, and anger at the fact that she saw so much of him in her daughter at that moment. "You _cannot_ do this."

The girl gave her mother a long look before pulling the hood farther over her face, casting her eyes in shadow, "Watch me."

x-x-x

"Dick," Barbara said through his Bluetooth with a sigh, "Bruce said he was going after Sportsmaster."

"I know," the boy replied, running across the roof of an abandoned factory. He kicked off the edge and landed on the next building with a summersault. Years without proper practice made him rusty, but the skills were coming back to him quick enough.

"So why are _we_ on this?" Babs was annoyed. It was their date night, and she was stuck in the computer room while her boyfriend was out tracking baddies against Bruce's wishes. She wheeled her chair back from one computer so she could look at the data on the next.

"No one threatens my friends," Dick practically growled as he perched above a grimy sky light, "no one." The wind stirred, and the boy froze, his ears staining to pick up any sound. In a swift, fluid motion, Dick Grayson rose and swung around, extending his leg as he pivoted. The action was stopped before his foot could make contact, a hand wrapped around his ankle.

"I told you," Batman said with a gruff growl, "not to interfere."

A flash of green caught Dick's eye, and he glanced down at the skylight, expecting to see Green Arrow. Dread felled his entire being as he realized who it actually was who had entered the building. Her face was covered, but he could see who she was in the way she held her shoulder, the way she walked. Artemis Crock was going after her father. "Someone should have told her that."

x-x-x

Megan giggled as Connor kissed down her neck, her fingers in his hair. This was nice. This feeling of acceptance, of mutual want. She had been so starved of love in the past that even the though to Connor made her heart melt in joy. Greed filled her and she pulled him closer, almost not registering the fact that her phone was ringing with the _Hello, Megan!_ theme song. Connor did, however, and pulled away to answer it.

"Yeah?" His irritated expression quickly faded to shock and then worry. The phone call only lasted thirty seconds, but by the time Connor hung us, he looked sick to his stomach. "We have to go," he told Megan, standing and helping her off the couch, "Artemis's in trouble."

x-x-x

Wally groaned as he woke up, a wet cloth on his forehead. "Ow," he moaned, sitting up on the couch in Artemis's living room. The cloth dropped to his lap as he looked around the dark room. She was gone.

"You should not have tried to stop her," Paula's voice rang out softly in the quiet space. "Neither of them takes kindly to being stopped." She rolled herself closer to him, the moonlight illuminating the tears in her eyes.

"She kicked me," he accused, "in the face." Wally supposed there were worse places to be kicked, and he did want kids someday, but he could feel the bruise on his cheek bone as he talked.

"Here," Paula held out a strip of note paper, ignoring his comment. "Go to this address. The Harper twins live there. They will know how to find Jade. Please… you must bring my daughter back alive."

Wally took the paper and nodded as his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, and with a quick glance at the Caller ID, answered it. "I'm on my way," he said after his best friend explained the situation he already knew too much about, "I have backup."

**First of all, I'd just like to thank everyone. I'm pretty sure this is my most popular story as of favorites/follows. I have changed Megan's history slightly, also. In stead of her mom re-marring, her dad did which is why she and Gar look like her mom (this information does not effect you if you've just started reading this story). I would like to encourage everyone to read my other YJ story set **_**Parallel**_**. You can read more about it on my profile, so please check it out :D **

**So, how do you like changes on Artemis's first costume? She'll get her real costume later in the story, don't worry.**


	5. Chapter 4

The man who answered the door had a red buzz cut. He was only a few years older then Wally, mid twenties at the oldest, but he had an old look in his eyes like he had seen too much of the world for his time. One hand held a towel around his waist; the other was gone and replaced with a metal one, which was currently in the process of slamming the door in Wally's face.

"I need to talk to Jade," Wally panted, stopping the door from closing with the butt of his shoulder. "Artemis is in trouble!" Behind him, Brucely gave a bark and whimper at his mister's name. They had come together. The dog was as worried about Artemis as Wally was, and had practically lead him to the Harper's front door. The house, however, was not what Wally had expected. They were in a nice part of town, and judging from the replacement arm, were from good money. Not the type of people he would have expected to hand around a convict's daughter. But then, who was he to talk?

"Who are you?" The man opened the door just wide enough for Wally to see another man behind him. Save for the longer hair and both arms, the two were practically identical.

"That doesn't really matter," Wally grinded out, rolling his shoulder to get rid of some of the pain, "does it? What matters it that Artemis went after her dad. Alone." Judging from the change in bother men's expressions, they knew who Artemis and Jade's dad was, and they knew what he was capable of. "Now, are you going to help me or not?"

x-x-x

Dick Grayson stood in the shadows of a street lamp, waiting. His arms were crossed over his dark blue hoodie and his black athletic pants blended easily into the shadows. If he had known what was going down tonight, he would have brought more then just a mask and a few of Bruce's extra toys. Intel gathering, that's what tonight _should_ have been. Confirming the information "Oracle," as she liked to call herself, had gathered. Artemis had not been part of the plan.

_Batman_ had gone to scope out the building, but with most of the League off world, there was no one to call in if things went wrong. And things _always _went wrong. That's why he had to call in the others. He and Artemis had been teaching their friends how to fight, and now it was time to use their new skills.

Kal was the first to arrive. He knew Lawrence Crock personally, knew what the man was capable of. When Paula was in jail, Artemis would find sanctuary at his house, sometimes staying for weeks at a time. He had seen her bruised and broken, had helped his mother nurse her injuries—he wouldn't let that happen to her again.

Megan and Connor arrived next, Conner's large husky, Wolf, at his heels. They had parked his motorcycle a block away, just to be safe, but the dog had come on his own accord. They had tried to hurry, but both had thought it was better for Megan to change out of her bright clothes and into a darker cat suit.

"Are we too late?" Worry was lacing Megan's voice and her eyes were panicked. Artemis was one of the only real friends Megan had. Thanks to being on the cheer team, the girls at school were always nice to her, but not Artemis. Artemis had no problem being a bitch, no matter what anyone thought of her. That was one of the things that had originally brought the girls together. But if Artemis got hurt…

"No," Dick said, moving away from the wall he had been leaning against and unclenching his fists for the first time in fifteen minutes. Thankfully, Artemis hadn't been caught yet. The warehouse was a big place, and that was working to her advantage—for now. He just prayed that her luck would hold up until they found her. "Wally's meeting us latter. Let's go."

x-x-x

For the second time that night, Artemis's family shocked Wally. The Harper Twins, both named Roy and with no relations to each other, had taken Wally to an apartment building and up to the third floor. When Jade answered the door, she had a baby on her hips. One with red hair that didn't match her own.

Long haired Roy reached out for the kid, who Jade reluctantly released, and bounced her lightly in his arms. Wally looked between the two, but he didn't have time for the kid's life story. So he got straight to the point.

"Your dad's back. Artemis went after him."

"Shit," the woman hissed and shut the door. When it opened, twenty seconds later, Jade was wearing a ball cap and a green jacket over her tank top. "You," she ordered, before handing an over night baby bag to long haired Roy, "take Lian to my mom's house." With a turn of her back, he was dismissed and her full attention was on Wally. "Who are you?" She sized him up, taking in his red hair and the bruise on his cheek. She had seen him with her sister once, out side of Gotham Academy. It was the only time Jade had ever seen a smile reach Artemis's eyes, even if she had been glaring at the boy. "Never mind, let's go."

**Okay, yeah kinda a filler chapter. And kinda short, too. Sorry 'bout that, but I wanted to get the Harpers and Jade in the story. If you guys want longer chapters, I'm willing for it. Just comment with a word count or page number and I'll try :)**


	6. Chapter 5

**Hi! I'm still alive!** **Sorry about the wait everyone, I've been busy with school and cleaning me room. God, I hate cleaning my room… Anyways, here's the next chapter! **

Sometimes Artemis hated her luck. She had remembered several meetings points _Sportsmaster_ had used during his active days. It was just like her to actually pick the right warehouse on the first try. She had hidden in the shadows, watching as her father sharpen his tools of trade, her arrow trained at his heart. _Aim to kill, baby girl,_ her father had always told her, _you can be sure your target will be doing the same._

She had him, she could kill him, and as he lay dying she would walk out of the shadows and make him proud. That's what _would_ have happened if the "Dark Knight" hadn't shown up. His presence cause the bow to waver and her arrow implanted itself into the wall by Sportsmaster's shoulder. That was when all Hell broke loose.

Artemis didn't have time to think, she had to rely solely on her fighter reflexes. First it was her and Batman against Sportsmaster, dogging his blows while trying to get a few in themselves. Then her father's henchmen arrived. They were green, probably just men he had taken with him when breaking out of prison, but they were all over the place hardly giving Artemis the chance to breath.

At some point during the fight, Artemis had lost track of when, four more people had shown up. She had gotten ready to attack one, when he took out a pursuing henchman. In the dark shadows of the building, she couldn't see any faces but she could guess who they were. Three boys and a girl—somehow her friends had found her. Maybe she hadn't kicked Wally hard enough, but judging from the movements of the men, none of them were him.

In the moment she realized Wally had been the only one not to come to her rescue, her father got the drop on her. His hand shot out, knocking her back and the girl stumbled until she felt the metal shelf behind her. Sportsmaster reached out and pulled the cloth hiding Artemis's face away from her mouth, disappointment showing through his mask.

"I had higher expectations for you, baby girl," he scolded, his voice cold.

"Yeah," a voice called from atop the shelf and both Artemis and Sportsmaster looked up, "well this is a low expectation family."

x-x-x

Wally was not a religious person. He didn't believe in God or magic or anything that couldn't be proven with science, but as Jade, "Arsenal," and he raced for the abandoned building he found himself praying he wasn't too late.

Jade had vanished into the shadows as soon as they had gotten inside, leaving Wally with the walking weaponry. Apparently, after Roy No. 2 had lost his arm, he'd had it replaced with a state-of-the-art Lex Corp. foux limb. One that could turn into a gun (and more) at will.

"Stay here," Arsenal told him, "it's too dangerous for a kid."

"My girlfriend is out there," Wally growled, pushing past the guy who was only a few years older then him, "I'm not just sitting on the sidelines. And I'm not a kid."

Wally didn't know what was worse, the thought of Artemis laying, broken, on the ground or the fact that he was nearly powerless to help. If Artemis could take him down without even trying, what could he do against her _hardened criminal_ father? _You're the Wall-man_, he told himself as she started running towards where the sounds of fighting was coming from, _you're dating the hottest, toughest chick at Gotham Academy—you can do anything._ Right, Wall-man, just keep telling yourself that.

x-x-x

Dick wasn't sure how the fight was going. Artemis had disappeared along with Sportsmaster and hadn't come back for some time. A quick glance at the other three told him that they were doing well at holding their own.

Kal was fighting with speed and skill, not using much force at all to take down his opponents, but there was a kid of brutality in his movements that made him a fearful sight. Across the room, Megan bobbed and weaved the men like Artemis had shown her just that afternoon. She used the men against themselves, only getting in a few jabs of her own but otherwise letting then take each other down. And in between the two was Connor. He didn't quite have a fighting style, but his blunt force was enough to take on anyone.

With the assurance that his friends could take on the goons by themselves, Dick raced for the maze of shelves. Artemis needed him right now. She couldn't face her father on her own, and she shouldn't have to. He followed the sounds of the fight, but paused when he turned the corner. Artemis had her back up against a shelf, her eyes glued on the seen before them.

One blocky, harsh shadow fought a feminine frame. Though they seemed equally matched in skill, the woman was quicker and her sai daggers were able to sneak between the faults in Sportsmaster's armor.

"Who is that?" Dick asked as he hurried towards Artemis who looked like she was about to throw up.

"I think," the girl faltered, but her eyes never left the fight, "I think she's my sister."

x-x-x

The last time Artemis had seen Jade was just after their mom had gone to jail. Jade had run away, leaving Artemis alone in the hands on her father. Her child hood was not a thing she liked to look back upon. There had not been any rainbows or sunny family picnics; instead her time had been filled with harsh combat training and lessons on killing methods. The girl had held a grudge for her sister, but now Jade was fighting their father in attempt to keep Artemis safe and she wasn't sure what to think.

"It looks like she has this under control," Dick said, grabbing Artemis's hand, "let's go find Wally."


End file.
